May 16, 2008

Final Stats

(San Francisco, CA) - San Francisco rallied to tie or take the lead three times, including a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth, but Dallas Baptist scored four times in the 10th to take the 11-7 non-conference victory at Benedetti Diamond on Friday afternoon. The Dons (31-25) managed 10 hits, including three homeruns and a triple, but left 14 runners on base, while the Patriots (36-17) had 15 base knocks and left just seven.

After the Patriots scored two in the third off two RBI singles, the Dons roared back in the bottom of the frame to take the 4-2 lead. Freshman third baseman Stephen Yarrow tripled to lead off the inning and scored on senior second baseman Joey Railey's fifth homerun of the season, a shot over the scoreboard in right field. Freshman designated hitter Connor Bernatz walked and senior right fielder Kyle Morgan smashed the Dons second homerun of the inning, a two-run job that hit over the top of the fence and bounced back into the field of play.

Dallas Baptist plated three in the fifth, off a three-run homerun to right field from the bat of senior right fielder Nick Santos to make it 5-4. But the Dons would not be denied in the bottom of the inning, scoring one to tie it at 5-5, when senior first baseman Mitchell Bialosky homered to left, his team leading eighth homerun of the season.

DBU regained the lead the very next inning, scoring twice, once again on two RBI singles. In the seventh, USF scored when sophomore shortstop Derek Poppert singled in sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin. They tied it at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth. Lipkin singled through the left side to start the frame and moved to second when junior left fielder Zach Kim walked. Junior Drew Johnson took over running duties at second for Lipkin and all runners moved up a bag when sophomore center fielder Bobby Ethel was hit by a pitch. With the bases now loaded, Poppert hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Johnson to scamper home.

USF had a chance to score the winner when DBU's senior closer Tyson Bagley intentionally walked Yarrow to load the bases and face Railey. The winning run would not cross the plate as both Railey and senior pinch hitter Matt Lieb would strike out to end the threat.

In the extra frame, the Patriots managed to plate four base runners off three hits and a costly error by Morgan in right. Bagley struck out Morgan and Bialosky, hit freshman catcher Travis Higgs, then struck out Kim to end the game.

Bagley (4-2) earned the win for DBU, allowing one earned run off one hit, two walks, and struck out five Dons in 2.0 innings. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Millard earned the no decision after allowing four earned runs off six hits, two walks, and struck out one in 2.1 innings. Dons' sophomore right-hander Alex Kalogrides (3-3) took the loss in relief, allowing two runs (one earned) off three hits in 1.0 inning. Freshman left-hander Garrett Luippold allowed the Patriots final two unearned runs in one-third of an inning. Senior left-hander Matt Baugh threw 8.1 innings, earning the no-decision in his final start as a Don. The Antioch, CA native allowed seven earned runs off 11 hits, one walk, and struck out seven.

Railey homered and singled in the contest, giving him a team leading 78 hits this season. He now sits tied in third place with Armand Gaerlan (2001-04) with 239 career base knocks. He also extended his team leading hit streak to 18 games.

Lipkin raised his team leading batting average to .385 with three hits in the contest. He also scored a run and walked twice. Morgan homered, drove in two, and scored once. Bialosky also homered, drove in a run, and scored one. Kim singled and walked twice. Poppert singled and drove in two, while Yarrow tripled and scored once.

USF hosts Dallas Baptist tomorrow in the series and season finale. The game time for senior day has been changed to 12:30 PM.